Citation

Beckman K, Lysell H, Haglund A, Dahlin M. Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol. 2019; 54(4): 437-444.

Affiliation

Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm County Council, St. Goran, 112 81, Stockholm, Sweden.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00127-018-1618-7

PMID

30406282

Abstract

PURPOSE: Gender differences in youth self-harm are sparsely studied regarding long-term prognoses. We aimed to study the gender differences in effects of adolescent self-harm in early adult life in four domains: 1/family situation, 2/education and employment, 3/mental illness and suicidal behaviour, and 4/suicide and all-cause mortality.

METHOD: A register-based cohort study including all Swedish residents aged 20 during 2001-2005 was performed. Exposure was self-harm at ages 10-20, and outcomes were death and suicide and past-year records of self-harm, marital status/children, education/employment, and mental health at age 30. We used logistic regression for dichotomous outcomes, and Cox regression models for time-dependent outcomes. An interaction term was introduced to detect significant gender effects, in which case we performed stratified analyses.

RESULTS: Subjects with self-harm before age 20 had a poorer prognosis for all studied outcomes, and risk estimates were similar for men and women for most outcomes including suicide. Significant interaction terms (ITs) were found, revealing gender differences, for being married (p_IT 0.0003; OR_men 0.6, OR_women 0.9), being a parent (p_IT < 0.0001; OR_men 0.7, OR_women 1.1), receiving unemployment support (p_IT < 0.0001; OR_men 2.4, OR_women 1.8), and death from any cause (p_IT 0.006; OR_men 10.6, OR_women 7.4).

CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent self-harm was associated with later life adversities and affected men more than women regarding prognoses for unemployment and certain aspects of the family situation. We found no gender difference for the effect of self-harm on the risk of suicide. Future suicide risk should not be underestimated in young self-harming women.

Language: en

Keywords

Mental illness; Prognosis; Self-harm; Suicide; Youth